Relegated only to return for several consecutive years in the Premier league. How many consecutive years did they have in the top flight at burnden park after the long faded Nat Lofthouse era? The attendances have dropped away but you are quoting the best set of figures to suit your argument. That's similar me saying what were the attendance figures when they first played at the Reebok compared to when they were in the old 3rd division?

Having a new stadium offers more opportunities than just increasing your gates. What about the extra corporate hospitality and sponsorship it's brought them? What about attracting higher profile players to the club? It allowed them to attract players like Anelka, Djorkaeff and Campo etc who wouldn't have been seen dead at burnden park.

Anyone who can't see what the Reebok has done for Bolton Wanderers needs their head examining!

Well we've had several years to build us up to the new several years to go. So the club should have the marketing side of things bob on.

Oh hang on.......................................................

Ahh you see Rugby union = rah rah, upper class ( well they think they are), business connections and is trendy to be seen to go to when your at your next ball and being photographed in Lancashire life.

Football at OT = the "in " place to have your corporate hospitality. You watch the best of what Britain has to offer, Is once again a trendy place to name drop that you go to and have a box there......

Rugby League = who the feck wants to go and watch Salford against wakefield, Quins, Crusaders? need I go on? It's not trendy, It's lower class, it not seen by clients as choice place to wine and dine people.

It would take a HUGE overhaul of RL and it's image for Solicitors firms or other big businesses to want to use Salford and RL for those purposes with maybe Wigan , Saint and Leeds the exception.

Obviously this is all my own opinion and has nothing in the way of solid facts to back it up.

I fully understand what you are saying but maybe some local people's perceptions will change of Salford Reds and RL in a modern stadium with plush corporate facilities. I'm told the function room can dine up to 750 people and will offer the biggest capacity in Greater Manchester. (For a single room) The room can also be divided up into three sections if required. Some local businesses may view it as great networking opportunity at a fraction of the cost of football hospitality.

Thats a good point actually. Should the club ( or maybe they already do?) push the hospitality based of the lower price that they would be able to provide it for. Or would that put potential clients off?

I think the answer to that is to have different price levels.

The cost and amount that corporate sales will make you could actually go down

As has been alouded to , RL is more of a working class ' local boy made good ' sport , will you be in complete control of the stadium and pricing of concessions ?

The way I understand it is the food catering company charge the club x amount per meal and then the club sells packages around that factoring in the ticket prices. The package could also include things like matchball sponsorship and programme advertising etc. The club will also have 10/12 private boxes to sell which they don't currently have at the Willows.

I just had a thought. Will Catering be done by Salford Council as the stadium could be viewed as a council owned venue? I presume that at the willows the club get quite a good profit from the packages it does for it's corporate stuff. Could this profit be reduced if the catering and prices for it are held by someone else?

The more I think about it the more I think that the possibility for the club to make a profit is being eroded somewhat by the Peel/ Council coalition.

I'm quoting the only season in the Prem at Burnden and the current season - how is that 'to suit my argument?!'
What other figures could be any more relevant?! Your comment about the old 3rd Division (we were actually in the old 4th when I started following them) is just nonsense. I wouldn't mind putting money on the fact that we'd get less at the Reebok in League 2 now than we got in Division 4 back at Burnden though!



I fully appreciate what the Reebok has done FOR Bolton (and don't disagree with any of the examples you give) but I've also seen (at close quarters) what the Reebok has done TO Bolton, and it's certainly not all positive. My worry is the Salford will blindly ese the positives and ignore the negatives, and increased attendances are a prime example of that.

. bingo

Nah, the casino that was proposed alongside our stadium isn't going ahead anymore so I suspect there won't be any gaming of any kind, including bingo. Sorry. Shame though as you're right, it could've made us some extra revenue.

That wasn't what I meant , and you know it

The first year in the Prem was a novelty and Bolton were bound to attract more fans, even to burnden. I am sure it brought back lapsed/casual supporters who wanted to see them play bigger teams with world class players.

I also share your concern like many about the club wasting an opportunity and not maximising on the potential the new stadium could offer. I appreciate it's not just a case of build it and overnight we will have thousands of new fans turning up.

It's about the club gaining some momentum now, the strength and efforts of the team on the field, entertaining people, great marketing, positive spin and offering value for money. Unfortunately due to years of disappointments our own hardcore support are probably not selling the club to others either with so much critisism and negativity. I can feel the negative atmosphere at the games and it must put off any potential new supporters who visit the Willows for the first time. I'm guilty of it, I have regularly criticised the team to friends and work mates days after a poor result without realising the negative impact it must have on attracting new support.

Perhaps we should all take a look at ourselves too and ask are we doing all we can to help our club at a crucial period in the clubs history?

All new stadia in all sports have outside caterers, it won't be the council. For 13 matches a year it just wouldn't stack for clubs to buy all the expensive kitchen equipment and employ all the people. Plus the outside caterers are usually responsible for the fit out costs of the hospitality facilities etc which I'd guess will run well into a few hundred grand. The council/peel partnership will make money from the function room(s) for non rugby events at the stadium. This will contribute towards paying off the loan and covering some of the stadium management running costs.

Any shortfall in package profits could be more than made up for with increased numbers and private box rental.

You seem pretty sure about that. I on the other hand don't think that the council will hand over a source of potential income when It's a proven money maker as they have found in the other premises that they use in this way for weddings etc...

This is far bigger than Buile Hill where they cater for up to a hundred people at a wedding once or twice a week. Can you imagine a big function with 750 diners and Doreen one of the Chef's phones in sick with a bad back?

Honestly something on this scale calls for professional caterers who employ huge numbers and can pull in staff from other places at short notice.

, you might find it harder to fill those 750 seats

50% more have you ever bought a drink in the Willows?

I never realised they did meals at Hilton Park!

At huge cost , when added to profit , makes for not a lot left for SCR , as I asked earlier , are SCR in total control of the selling of concessions and the running of the stadium ?

Last week at Leigh I counted the pitchside advertising , if you take out SKY sports , Carnegie ,Co op ,Northern Rail , there was left 9 other companies , 5 of whom are shirt sponsors , leaving 4 actual companies that had paid for pitchside adds

Why is this ? , simple , the club doesn't recieve any of the pitchside advertising , so local companies that normally take it up ' to help support the club ' havent bothered

Will SCR recieve the revenue from pitchside advertising at the Barton stadium ?

Hilton suite was sold out most games , between 100/120 covers , better food and atmosphere than several SL clubs , that coming from fans who had sampled both

Wasn't a thriller then?

You'll be more than welcome down the Willows anytime if it's that dull at the LSV??

We were playing our reserves verses Hull Dockers in the cup , and it was at half time

Serious question though , have you sold your soul to the devil that is Salford City Council ?

Where have you got the 750 diners from? I can't see anything on the website to say how much the corp hosp will hold. Plus do you really think there will be that many using the facility?

Also believe it or not Buile hill can take up to 350 people. It doesn't take that much more to cater for double that amount nowadays. I also think your not giving the staff who do the catering much respect. I've sampled their food before and it' of a decent quality.

Quote ="Fungus The Muffin Man" various snipped... '" this... www.reds.co.uk/community-news/re ... ter-sucess is not happening coincidentally... hospitality space here... www.salfordstadium.com/facilities.htm

Quote ="Fungus The Muffin Man" various snipped... '" this... www.reds.co.uk/community-news/re ... ter-sucess is not happening coincidentally... hospitality space here... www.salfordstadium.com/facilities.htm